1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a remote control system that includes a display device and a remote control device spaced apart from each other. The display device is configured to display an operation screen for an input of an instruction directed to a control target apparatus. The remote control device is manipulatable by a user in order to point at position on the operation screen and to input the instruction.
2. Description of Related Art
There is known a remote control system for operating an in-vehicle apparatus such as a navigation apparatus, an air conditioner, an audio apparatus and the like via pointing at a certain position on an operation screen displayed on a display device such as a liquid crystal display device and the like. For this type of remote, control system, because of the need for reduction of movement of viewpoint of a driver in driving, it may be preferable that the display device for displaying the operation screen be located as far as possible in front of the driver. Since the remote control device is manipulated to point at position on the operation screen, it may be preferable that the remote control device be located within driver's reach, and the driver can manipulate the remote control device without taking a look at a manipulation member of the remote control device.
JP-A-2006-29917 describes a remote control system including a display device configured to display an operation screen and a manipulation member configured to be manipulatable by a user. The display device and the manipulation member are spaced apart from each other. The remote control system described in JP-A-2006-29917 employs the following operation method (see FIGS. 9(a) and 9(d) of JP-A-2006-29917). A pointer is displayed to continuously indicate a pointed position (i.e., a position pointed by a pointer) on the operation screen. The pointer is operated using the remote control device, and is moved onto an icon to which an instruction directed to an in-vehicle apparatus is assigned. The instruction is issued via selection of the icon. According to the above operation method however, it takes an effort and a time to move the pointer onto a desired position on the operation screen. A period of time for a user to gaze the operation screen is increased, which may be troublesome.
The inventors of the present application have studied a method for selecting an icon from among multiple icons without use of a pointer. An example method without use of a pointer will be described below.
An operation screen containing multiple icons is displayed, so that one of the multiple icons is always in a selection state and the others of the multiple icons are in a non-selection state. An identification display mark such as a cursor and the like is displayed in association with an icon that is now in the selection state, i.e., that is presently selected. When a direction instruction (i.e., an instruction about an operation direction) is inputted with an operation amount greater than or equal to a predetermined amount, the cursor is moved to an icon that is located closest in the operation direction relative to the position of the presently-selected icon, and the selection state is shifted to the closest icon (i.e., a destination icon). According to this method, it is possible to omit an effort of moving the pointer onto position of the destination icon from user operation. Moreover, it is possible to reduce a time for a user to gaze the operation screen, and it is possible to reduce user's operation burden.
In the above-described method, one icon of the multiple icons on the operation screen is always in the selection state. When the instruction about operation direction is inputted, the position of the cursor is accordingly moved from the one icon to another icon. When the display is switched from a first operation screen to a second operation screen having a different icon arrangement, the cursor jumps from position of one icon selected on the first operation screen to position of an initial selection icon pre-set on the second operation screen. The initial selection icon is an icon that is pre-set to be in the selection state on the second operation screen just after the switch of display into the second operation screen.
However, when position of the cursor, which indicates an icon in the selection state, is largely moved due to the switch of the display from one operation screen to another operation screen, a user may lose the position of the cursor.